Co-locating servers

[just_grass]

Thinking of buying a secondhand or cheap server....

mainly to host my e-mails and domain... (to take over from my home pc), but also thinking about it possibly being a website hosting server for people to use, obviously to pay me for...

I dont think i'd be buying a server or hosting it anywhere if i can't get people to host a site on it, as i dont think i could afford to do it.

Ive found some co-location hosting at £39/month with £15 setup - 300GB traffic 10ips 99.97% uptime etc... in maidenhead.

sounds a good deal - for a 1u server.

I expect to be looking for at least, a dual pIII 1ghz, 2gb RAM spec server with ample hdd space - most likely sata. (cheaper disks).... and this is most likely overkill.... not sure though... - would most likely be windows based, as i know nothing else, and can be easier to manage (vpn / rdp).....

Any ideas? or suggestions?

Any ideas for cheap servers either reconditioned or used? probably around £500ish.

Also, to get people to know about the server - whats the best way to advertise it before setting things in motion?

And one final thing, roughly how many concurrent website sessions / max sites would that server handle? - (bearing in mind it could be running x amount of sites with my mail server software too.)

Thanks,
Alex

 

[just_grass]

I found both the server and the co-location center! - thanks for posting them - i think that settles definetly the co-location! - and very nearly the server!

I just need to know how many sessions/sites the server would cope with - or some sort of idea on the load.

i think most co-location places ive been looking at suggest setting up before hand and some insist that you do. - I definetly will be.

Are we talking 10s/20 sites? - or 50+ sites? or more?!

Thanks for your reply.
Alex

 

[just_grass]

i have discovered www.49pence.com - i think heavily suggested by Toytown. - These offer apc reboots afaik, and 2000gb traffic for 0.5amp power.

I did completely oversee the control panel for managing sites.

I have looked at cpanel and awbs?

i wont be going into domain registration aswell, because, from what ive read, it costs a lot to have this facility.

What control panel would you suggest for me to allow people to
1) signup for hosting,
2) and possibly for me to host a nameserver and dns for their domains(which they buy elsewhere, unless it is far cheaper than i thought originally)
3) accomodate billing and payments

do these control panels automatically setup usernames and password privilages to space on the disk and create ftp accounts for them to use? - how/what do they do exactly?

On another note, - do i have to register a trading name to trade under or can i just bung up a site and call myself something - without registering it with an authority?

Sorry for these questions... but i am more technically minded and capable of running/managing the server/ongoing maintanance but the initial setup i'm finding a little confusing to say the least!!

Thanks again!!
Alex

 

[just_grass]

i think cpanel will do the trick for this - i don't mind paying for something thats very well known/used.

What OS is best for this type of server? - i am very fluent in windows server (2k and 2k3 enterprise) and have a legit copy of backoffice server 2k......

do i use this? as i can set it up, but not have the resiliance and reliablilty of a linux server (of which i haven't a clue with atm)

I would prefer to use linux - for reliablilty etc... but how easy is it to manage remotely? - with win servers, rdp/vpn and other measures can be used.

Alex

 

[just_grass]

If your going down the Microsoft route then I think you will need to license the server under the Server Provider License Agreement (SPLA). I could be wrong (and i'm sure i'll be corrected if i am ) but I do not believe you can provide a hosted service for multiple end-users under the standard EULA - assuming you want this to be legit of course

Dan.

Yea that'll settle it then, We're going down the linux route. Possible debian or Suse.

Using awbs.com's front end billing and management system.

49pence.com's co-location.

dell or self-build server.

enom for domain registrations

All final decisions as yet.

Alex

 

[just_grass]

nothings really swayed me at all...

I set out with mainly having the idea of a server used for webhosting, with software i choose and know whats what with it.

i just want to control as many aspects as i could, - and with someone else managing the server(s) - well thats something i can easily do myself.

As for a cpanel license - if u read the awbs.com's features - i'm fairly sure this covers the cpanel features?

And yes, i've already approached local businesses, - showing interest, and also approached a local web designer who is very interested in using my hosting for his designs.

Alex

 

[just_grass]

i'm going to say it again, what exactly are you offering that the big companies don't? why exactly would people choose to host on your server?

I aim to provide lower priced and good quality hosting with average to good features. As it's more like a hobby, than a full business, i wont be wanting a huge profit from it - so i will be able to keep prices low.

The way i see it, is if i can at least break even, in the first year (inc server costs etc..) hen the subsequent years will be profitable to me. (all bar maintenance fees) - but the potential of the project is to bring in far more profit than just breaking even, so hopefully it will be successful.

I have been in contact with a local webdesigner - also as a 'hobby' after his job as a theatre technician - he is willing to use my hosting facilities to host his clients sites rather than 1and1, providing my facilities can match or beat the packages he uses.

Alex